Chanda Foreman | Facebook
By ZOE FISHER
Homicide Watch Chicago
Chanda Foreman’s close friends and family remember her for her faith in God and her love of fashion and food.
The 37-year-old was murdered on July 1, her birthday. She and a few friends had just returned from a birthday celebration at Cooper Hawk restaurant on 111th street and stopped at Foreman's great aunt's house to check on her 6-year-old daughter, Chaylah. THey were planning to head downtown to continue the celebration.
Around 15 members of Foreman’s family, including kids, were sitting on the porch enjoying the evening in West Beverly when a car pulled up and opened fire, according to her aunt, Jackie Spicer.
Foreman and a friend were shot while sitting in her car, and three other people were shot on the porch, according to her mother, Cathy Geralds. She died while being transported to Holy Cross Hospital, police said.
To the family’s knowledge, there are no suspects or leads in the case. The car the shooters used was found burned a few days later.
Chanda Foreman | Facebook
Foreman’s daughter was in the house during the shooting and now stays with Geralds.
Chaylah Foreman’s features, interest and mannerisms resemble her mother’s, Geralds said.
She figures her fashion taste will eventually follow suit.
Because of Foreman’s love for H&M, Michael Kors and MAC, her friends referred to her as a fashionista. “She was an all-around girly girl,” Henry said.
Pencil skirts, pastels, and lime-green nails were part of her signature style. Foreman’s younger cousin, Markita Sims, found solace in Foreman wearing a cream, floral dress with her trademark nails visible at her funeral.
Faith was another consistent dimension in all of her relationships. She attended church every Sunday and bible study on Wednesdays, Sims said.
“She was a very reliable and spiritual friend,” Denise Henry said, “She kinda had a motherly protection.”
Geralds said Foreman acted as a second mother to her four siblings, who were all raised in the Baptist church.
And as the oldest of five, family members always admired her independence. But they stressed that independence and her other values reflected her relationship with God.
Henry remembers a mutual friend losing their tax refund, and Foreman prayed for her to find it until she did.
Chanda Foreman | Facebook
Her younger cousin, Markita Sims, said Foreman taught her about honesty and loyalty. “She would always say, ‘Tell the truth, lies will catch up with you,’” Sims said.
After graduating, she got her own apartment and began working. This year marked her 10th at Comcast. And even though she had a promising future in styling from practicing on her family, Foreman planned on switching to a career in physical therapy and was enrolled in classes at South Suburban College.
Geralds realized at a young age that her daughter was advanced academically. “She excelled in everything she did,” she said. Foreman attended Simeon Career Academy, the first person in her family to attend there, which allowed her siblings and cousins to follow her.
Foreman instilled the same importance in education, faith and her passion for glamour into her daughter, who she’d reward with a manicure and pedicure if she did well in school that week.
Geralds remembered the young girl’s response when she heard that her family members had been shot.
“I hope everybody get their life back,” the girl said, according to Geralds.
And “everybody did, but her mother,” Geralds said.